The Rural Business-Cooperative Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it is accepting application for “Value-added Producer Grants”. The primary objective of this grant program is to assist Independent Producers of agricultural commodities, Agricultural Producer Groups, Farmer and Rancher Cooperatives, and Majority-Controlled Producer-Based Businesses in starting or expanding value-added activities related to the processing and/or marketing of biobased value-added agricultural products.
The USDA announced the availability of competitive grant funding through the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program. Approximately $10.5 million in carry over funding from fiscal year (FY) 2013 is still available to help agricultural producers enter into value added activities. This Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is being published prior to the Congressional enactment of a full-year appropriation for FY 2014.
More information is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-11-25/pdf/2013-28175.pdf .
